ICES Blog | Brenda Padilla Ericksen (3)

Brenda Padilla Ericksen

Brenda is the founder of GAP Academy, where J-1 and F-1 students gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to thrive in the USA. She provides cultural diversity and intercultural competence training for US exchange programs, sending organizations worldwide and personnel at multinational companies. Brenda has a Spanish Degree from Western Washington University and has been immersed in cultural diversity for over 30 years as a teacher, journalist and corporate trainer. She is from Seattle, Washington and has lived and worked in Spain for 30 years where she has raised four daughters. She is a former international student (Spain & Norway), host mother (Thailand, France, Austria & USA), and the mother of daughters who exchanged to France, Canada, USA, South Korea & Nepal.

Recent Posts

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On July 19, 2021

Fun Hosting Boys!

Cassidy and Chris Miller have just said good-bye to Jose from Barcelona. He is one more international son that has lived with...

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Tags: Host Families, Host an exchange student, Reasons to host,

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On July 12, 2021

What to Expect When You're Expecting...an Exchange Student!

Cassandra Ross and her husband were expecting to host Kim, a lovely exchange student from Germany when… the unexpected happened....

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Tags: Host Families, Cultural Exchange, Youth Exchange,

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On May 14, 2021

Host Families Have More Fun!

We take too much in life for granted!

That is why hosting an exchange student makes life so much more fun:

Your ordinary meals...

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Tags: Welcome Family, Host Families, StudentoftheMonth,

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On April 9, 2021

Make a Friend in Spain…

Do you dream of visiting Spain one day? Hosting an exchange student from this warm, fun-loving Mediterranean country could be a...

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By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On March 27, 2021

Make a Paella Party - the Easy Way

Your exchange student from Spain should make you a paella. Every Spanish teenager knows that, but many will procrastinate until...

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Tags: International Cooking

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On March 5, 2021

Make a Friend in Italy...

Are you a fan of all things Italian? You might love to host a student from Italy, but read this first!

Every year hundreds of...

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Tags: Cultural Exchange, cultural understanding

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On February 19, 2021

Make a Friend in Korea...

Is hosting an exchange student a good way to make a friend in Korea? Definitely! But do look before you leap...

Jasmine (2nd from...

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Tags: Host an exchange student, Reasons to host, cultural understanding

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On December 22, 2020

European Gift-Giving Customs

Around the world gift-giving traditions vary on special occasions of all kinds. Who gives gifts to whom? When? How should a gift...

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Tags: Cultural Exchange, Culture Shock, gift-giving europe

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On December 4, 2020

Culture in the Kitchen: German Treats

It all began as an experiment: what would German exchange students like to make or bake for their American host families?

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Tags: Cultural Exchange, International Cooking

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On November 13, 2020

Host Mom Sees Life Anew

Jami Dauphin once thought her life was rather conventional - even a tad boring. It was nothing special, to be sure. Or was it?

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Tags: Host an exchange student, Host mom, Reasons to host,

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On October 30, 2020

American Culture 101 - Make it a Game!

As host parents we have a lot of explaining to do - the fun (even funny) kind of explaining. For example:

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Tags: Culture Shock

By Brenda Padilla Ericksen On October 16, 2020

Culture Shock: How Can You Help?

In the 1960’s psychologists “discovered” culture shock. They were surprised that new immigrants needed so much medical care. A...

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Tags: Culture Shock

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